Can I buy/setup/use a CPAP machine without a doctor?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
SleeplessInAustin
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Can I buy/setup/use a CPAP machine without a doctor?

Post by SleeplessInAustin » Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:00 pm

Back in 2004, at my request, a doctor had a sleep apnea machine sent to my home to test for sleep apnea. After using the machine and mailing it back to whomever (I don't remember who it was/so long ago), my insurance company determined that I didn't have sleep apnea. Now I knew that was a bunch of crap, because I would always wake up a few times a night gasping for air and hearing myself at the end of a snore. Regardless, because of my insurance company's findings, I dismissed ever being able to do anything about it.

10 years have passed, and the problem hasn't gotten any better. I can count on one hand the number of times I have slept through the night without remembering having been woken up from gasping for air. Recently I did a search online and found that one can buy their own CPAP machine online, which also ultimately led me to finding this forum. Hearing that purchasing supplies direct is simpler, and sometimes cheaper than going through one's insurance company, I've decided that if I can do this on my own, without the requirement of going through a doctor, I want to get a CPAP.

Having monitored myself, I am 100% certain that my issue is due to the top of my throat relaxing at some point in the night and closing up. Sometimes it almost feels as though my throat swelled up. I also get very cotton-mouthed when this happens. I strongly believe that a CPAP machine will greatly reduce my sleep issues, but I don't know if setting a machine up requires several lines of data to be programmed in to it about my sleep health (I remember 10 years ago when I took the sleep apnea test, seeing several lines of data about my sleep).

If I purchase say a Respironics Remstar 150, can I plug it in, set a low flow rate (increase it if I feel it is necessary), put on the mask and sleep?

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Pugsy
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Re: Can I buy/setup/use a CPAP machine without a doctor?

Post by Pugsy » Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:18 pm

SleeplessInAustin wrote:If I purchase say a Respironics Remstar 150, can I plug it in, set a low flow rate (increase it if I feel it is necessary), put on the mask and sleep?
Yes you could do that but that particular model machine is the bare bones basic machine and doesn't offer any useful data that would possibly help you figure out potential issues.....it doesn't have any exhale relief (which might help) and doesn't even offer any leak data which is extremely important to know because if a person doesn't have leaks well managed we don't know if they are still feeling crappy because of leaks leading to sub optimal therapy or if it maybe simply sub optimal pressures being the problem.

You are going to need at least the model 450 (in the Respironics brand) or higher to have any data to fall back on to help you figure out what is going on.

But to answer your question...yes you can do it without going through a doctor or DME but you need to be well educated on the machines and what to do with the data that they gather and you for sure want a full efficacy data machine.
People can self diagnose and self treat but they need to be prepared to educate themselves fully and understand what they are doing and there is more to it than just turning the machine on.

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Can I buy/setup/use a CPAP machine without a doctor?

Post by chunkyfrog » Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:52 pm

Not having an official diagnosis will limit your options to whatever you can get from third party sellers.
Craigslist, yard sales, forum members, etc.
You need a prescription to purchase from our hosts or a local DME (beware the latter, they are often pricey)
A home study may show different results after 10 years of punishment,
You may have had apnea before, but your insurance had too high a threshold to cover treatment.
I have probably had apnea 20 years longer than I have been treated, but my HMO back then ordered a
really squirrelly study, pretty much a guaranteed negative.
You can give your doctor your results from the online questionnaire. (Brain fart-forgot the name)

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kaiasgram
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Re: Can I buy/setup/use a CPAP machine without a doctor?

Post by kaiasgram » Wed Mar 04, 2015 2:09 pm

chunkyfrog wrote:Not having an official diagnosis will limit your options to whatever you can get from third party sellers.
Craigslist, yard sales, forum members, etc.
You need a prescription to purchase from our hosts or a local DME (beware the latter, they are often pricey)
A home study may show different results after 10 years of punishment,
You may have had apnea before, but your insurance had too high a threshold to cover treatment.
I have probably had apnea 20 years longer than I have been treated, but my HMO back then ordered a
really squirrelly study, pretty much a guaranteed negative.
You can give your doctor your results from the online questionnaire. (Brain fart-forgot the name)
Epworh. Good idea, it's often the first screening tool for sleep apnea.

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SleeplessInAustin
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Re: Can I buy/setup/use a CPAP machine without a doctor?

Post by SleeplessInAustin » Wed Mar 04, 2015 2:15 pm

Thanks Gals

I didn't know you had to have a prescription to purchase a machine. It sounds like that is going to deflate my plans of doing this on my own. It's also good to know that the machine I saw wouldn't give me the information I need to help self diagnose and improve my situation. I'm willing to spend more to buy a machine that will do everything I need, or would want.

I too had these sleep issues for years before I took the test in 2004. Between the HMOs being vague about their coverages, and doctors recommending thing in the past that I didn't need (including a surgery many years ago), with the assistance of the internet and a lot of research, I took control of my own diagnosis and treatments years ago, and have felt much healthier ever since. The one issue left for me to resolve though, and it is a major one, is my lack of solid sleep through the night.

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Pugsy
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Re: Can I buy/setup/use a CPAP machine without a doctor?

Post by Pugsy » Wed Mar 04, 2015 3:06 pm

Oh....there are ways to buy a good machine without a RX...
Send me a private message if you want to know how...I know of a couple of PR System One 60 Series model 560 machines from someone I would trust to buy from.
Full data and all that...great machines.

Masks also need a RX but there are ways around that little hurdle too.

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Can I buy/setup/use a CPAP machine without a doctor?

Post by chunkyfrog » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:29 pm

Epworth scale: click, print, fill out, show doctor.
http://epworthsleepinessscale.com/epwor ... -scale.pdf

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archangle
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Re: Can I buy/setup/use a CPAP machine without a doctor?

Post by archangle » Wed Mar 04, 2015 5:58 pm

I've bought 8 CPAP machines off of local craigslist buyers. I usually had to wait a month or more to find a good deal, and had to drive a fair distance for some of them. Only one ended up being a bit of a dud, and that was $150 for two machines and the other one was good.

You'll see a lot of very high fantasy prices for crappy, old, low end machines on cl, but good deals show up occasionally. I wouldn't pay more than $300 for a good top of the line PRS1 auto or ResMed S9 AutoSet machine. If you could find a ResMed AirSense 10, I might go $400, but there aren't many of them out there yet.

You need to know which machines are acceptable and check them out to see if they run, check the hours, etc. Also check for cigarette smell. And observe the usual safety precautions for craigslist purchases.

There's more info in the useful links in my signature line at the bottom of this post about which machines are OK.

There are some risks to doing CPAP on your own. You can screw it up and not make it work, leaving your apnea untreated. You may have some problem other than sleep apnea and have serious medical problems because you were using CPAP and let your real problem go untreated.

Don't fall into the trap of "CPAP blindness" and blame all your medical problems on CPAP or apnea. Even doctors can fall into that trap.

CPAP pressure can cause central apnea in some people, so it's important to monitor your apnea levels.

CPAP isn't rocket science, but it isn't Joe Sixpack stuff either. Even with an auto CPAP, it's not just "turn it on and forget." I don't recommend do it yourself CPAP to everyone.

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sc0ttt
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Re: Can I buy/setup/use a CPAP machine without a doctor?

Post by sc0ttt » Wed Mar 04, 2015 6:10 pm

Yeah, if you're going to do this yourself, you definitely want the deluxe machine with the most features and Sleepyhead for the data.

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Oughtsix
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Re: Can I buy/setup/use a CPAP machine without a doctor?

Post by Oughtsix » Wed Mar 04, 2015 7:03 pm

I would have no qualms about doing what you are suggesting with an Auto CPAP with data capabilities. In my experience all doctors do is get you through your insurance company. As far as actually making CPAP therapy successful doctors don't actually do anything. An auto CPAP (APAP) will make it much easier to find the proper pressure for you.

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SleeplessInAustin
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Re: Can I buy/setup/use a CPAP machine without a doctor?

Post by SleeplessInAustin » Thu Mar 05, 2015 5:37 am

Thank you so much for all of the useful input! I will go ahead and look for a great deal on a Auto machine. If it takes a while, that is ok. Heck, I've probably already waited 20 years, so a few more weeks, or months, won't hurt. Once I do find one, I will definitely be back to let everyone know which one I ended up with. Wish me luck

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Re: Can I buy/setup/use a CPAP machine without a doctor?

Post by robysue » Thu Mar 05, 2015 8:10 am

SleeplessInAustin wrote:I will go ahead and look for a great deal on a Auto machine.
Beware the Resmed S9 Escape Auto. While this machine is an APAP, it does NOT record full efficacy data. And it does not record any leak data.

The Resmed S9 AutoSet is a full data APAP that is compatible with SleepyHead. Both the Series 50 and Series 60 PR System One Auto CPAPs record full efficacy data (including leak data) and both are compatible with SleepyHead.

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